Fred "Fritz" Klein (December 27, 1932 – May 24, 2006) was an Austrian-born American psychiatrist and sex researcher who studied

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

s and their relationships. He was an author and editor, as well as the developer of the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid, a scale that measures an individual's

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

. Klein believed that sexual orientation could change over the course of a lifetime and that researchers underestimated the number of men that had sexual interactions with both sexes.Pearce, Jeremy (June 4, 2006)
Fritz Klein, 73, Psychiatrist Who Studied Bisexual Culture, Dies.
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Fritz Klein founded the American Institute of Bisexuality in 1998, which is continuing his work by sponsoring bisexual-inclusive sex research, educating the general public on sexuality, and promoting bisexual culture and community.

Life and career

Klein was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, to

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...

ish parents. He and his family fled to New York City when he was a child, to escape

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

.Associated Press (June 6, 2006). Fritz Klein, 73, noted expert on bisexual life. ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' He received a BA from

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

in 1953, and an MBA from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1955. He studied medicine at

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

in Switzerland for six years, receiving his MD in 1971. Self-identifying as

, Klein was surprised at the lack of literature on his sexuality in the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

in 1974. That year he founded the Bisexual Forum, the world's first bisexual group.

Klein Sexual Orientation Grid and other works

He devised the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid, a multi-dimensional system for describing complex sexual orientation, similar to the "zero-to-six" scale

Kinsey scale The Kinsey scale, also called the Heterosexual–Homosexual Rating Scale, is used in research to describe a person's sexual orientation based on one's experience or response at a given time. The scale typically ranges from 0, meaning exclusively ...

used by Alfred Kinsey, but measuring seven different vectors of sexual orientation and identity (sexual attractions, sexual behavior, sexual fantasies, emotional preference, social preference, lifestyle and self-identification) separately, as they relate person's past, present and ideal future. Klein published '' The Bisexual Option: A Concept of One Hundred Percent Intimacy'' in 1978, based on his research. He also co-authored ''The Male, His Body, His Sex'' in 1978. Klein moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in 1982. He published ''Bisexualities: Theory and Research'' in 1986. In 1998 he founded the American Institute of Bisexuality (AIB), also known as the Bisexual Foundation or the Bi Foundation, to encourage, support and assist research and education about bisexuality. Klein also founded the '' Journal of Bisexuality''. He remained the Journal's principal editor until his death. He published ''Bisexual and Gay Husbands: Their Stories, Their Words'' in 2001. Klein published a novel, ''Life, Sex and the Pursuit of Happiness'' in 2005. In 2006 Klein was diagnosed with cancer, and underwent surgery as a result. On May 24 of that year, he died from a heart attack at his home in San Diego, aged 73.Staff report (June 16, 2006)
Fritz Klein: Psychiatrist driven to prove the existence of bisexuality.
'

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'',Reed, Christopher (June 19, 2006)
Fritz Klein: Psychiatrist exploring the complexities of bisexuality.
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', June 19, 2006Lee, Ryan (June 2, 2006)
Noted bisexual leader Klein dies at 73.
Washington Blade (via archive.org)Buchanan, Wyatt (June 1, 2006)
Dr. Fritz Klein -- bisexual pioneer who created Klein Grid sex scale.
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' He was survived by two brothers and his life partner, Tom Reise. Klein donated his body to science.

References

External links

American Institute of BisexualityBi.org
* (bisexual.org) * by Sheela Lambert (Bi Magazine)
Sexual and Affectional Orientation and Identity Scales
by Bobbi Keppel & Alan Hamilton for the Bisexual Resource Center (via archive.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Fritz 1932 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American LGBTQ people American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American psychiatrists American sexologists Austrian Jews Austrian emigrants to the United States Austrian scientists Bisexual academics Bisexual male writers Bisexual rights activists Bisexual scientists Columbia Business School alumni Jewish American scientists LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ physicians American LGBTQ rights activists American LGBTQ scientists Austrian LGBTQ writers Austrian bisexual people Psychiatry writers on LGBTQ topics University of Bern alumni Writers from New York City Writers from Vienna Yeshiva University alumni Bisexual Jews American bisexual writers